Baby stair gate buying guide

Published 1st February 2018

Pick the best stair gate for your baby, while ensuring it’s the perfect fit for your home, with our buying guide and tips on features to look out for.

We answer the top questions around safety and stair gates to help you make the correct choice for your little one, and then check out our range of safety gates at George, with options available from some of your favourite baby brands.

You’ll want to consider buying at least one stair gate for your home - and the safety of your baby - when they eventually become mobile.

You should definitely have one installed before they can walk, but it would be advisable to it when they start crawling to prevent your little one from climbing up or falling down the stairs, or accessing rooms that you don’t want them to enter. For instance, there are plenty of dangers in the kitchen, or in rooms with open fireplaces.

If you don’t install a stair or safety gate then you’ll have to be even more vigilant and while you should never leave your baby alone for long periods of time, you really won’t be able to take your eye off them if they can access all areas of the house rather than keeping them in one safe room with all their toys.

The two main type of stair gates: pressure-fit stair gates and screw-fit gates. Pressure-fit gates are those which sit within a U-shaped frame which fits inside door frames or between your stair case and wall by outward pressure at four points.

There’s no drilling into walls or door frames with this type of gate, but one downside is that the bottom of the frame can be a trip hazard, which also means that you should not use these at the top of stairs.

Screw-fit stair gates fix to walls and frames with screws to ensure a strong fitting. Because of this there’s no rail at the bottom of the gate, making this type ideal for the top of the stairs.

However, once your baby no longer requires a stair gate you’ll be left with a bit of minor DIY work to fill and cover the holes the gate fitting leaves behind.

Different stair gates will have different features which might be of use depending on your budget.

There tends to be a wide range of choice between metal and wooden stair gates, and you might want to choose one over the other depending which will look best in your home.

You’ll need to consider how you want your gate to open – they can swing, slide, retract or lift, while some gates open one-way and others open two-way to save you having to step backwards before walking through.

Again, consider where the gate will be used. It’s safer to have a one-way gate at the top of the stairs which opens towards you when you’re about to descend, for example.

Try and take a look at the opening mechanisms of the gates. Obviously they should be baby and toddler-proof, but they shouldn’t be so clunky as to frustrate the adults!

Some gates also come with alarms which sound if you’ve accidentally left it open for your child to potentially get through.

It’s completely up to you as parents as to how many safety gates you feel your home needs.

If you live in a home with stairs then it’s certainly worth installing a stair gate at the top, while you might also want to put one on your toddler’s bedroom door so that they can’t get up and wander around.

You might want to add a gate to the bottom of the stairs to stop your little one climbing up and falling down, while another gate on the living room downstairs will keep your little one from exploring the house if you have to take your eye off them for a second and give you greater peace of mind.